Variable speed mechanism for carding apparatus



Oct. l1, 1955 C, w, CARTER ET AL 2,720,007

VARIABLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR CARDING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 29, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l DELIVERY END OF BREAKER CARD INVENTOR.

OPE/VEP' Oct. l1, 1955 c. w. CARTER ETAI- VARIABLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR CARDING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 29, 1949' o) (o 0) (0 0) (O 0) (0 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

IQTTOR/VEV United States Patent O VARIABLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR CARDIN G APPARATUS Charles W. Carter, Feeding Hills, Mass., and James S.

Cowhey, Hazardville, Conn., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application October 29, 1949, Serial No. 124,468. Divided and this application October 10, 1951, Serial No. 250,632 i i 3 Claims. (Cl. 19-160) This invention relates to carding machines and in particular to a device to control the feeding of material, as it is being carded, by means of a variable speed mechanism located between a breaker card and a finisher card.

As is well known in the art, between the breaker card and the finisher card a narrow tiat web or round roping of librous material is laid from side to side upon a moving conveyor by means of a traveler running at uniform speed back and forth over the conveyor to form a sheet composed of overlapping webs or parallel ropings which is conveyed into the finisher card and emerges therefrom in a series of roving ends which are wound on jack spools. It has been found that these several rovings gradually decrease in weight from the middle jack spool out to the end jack spools.

The object of this invention is to produce rovings of substantially uniform weight across the spools. ln order to accomplish this object the speed of travel of the traveler is accelerated throughout its travel from the edges of the conveyor to its middle and decelerated throughout its travel from the middle of the conveyor to its edges. A preferred form of the invention is described below and other objects and features will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of the delivery end of the breaker card and the feed end of the nisher card,

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the traveler and associated mechanism, and

Fig. 3 is a side View of the preferred means for controlling the variable speed of the traveler.

The delivery end of the breaker cards consists of a moving apron 2 moving in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, upon which the web 4 lies and which feeds the Web to a point above a conveyor 6, also moving in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, and adapted to carry the web into the finisher card 8. Below the end of the apron 2 and above the conveyor 6 is a traveler 9 which grips the web or roping as it descends from the apron 2, and feeds it onto the conveyor 6.

The traveler 9 is caused to travel transversely in relation to the conveyor 6 by means of an endless sprocket chain 12 mounted upon two sprockets 14, 14 around which the chain is driven. Upon one side of the traveler is mounted what is known in the art as a scotch yoke 15. Projecting horizontally from and fast to the chain 12 is a pin 16 which engages the yoke 15.

As the pin, yoke, chain and traveler and the function of each is well known, a more detailed description is deemed to be unnecessary for a full understanding of the present invention which consists of controlling the speed of the chain which propels the traveler back and forth across and above the conveyor.

Fast to the axle of the sprocket 14 bearing the chain is a bevel gear 31 meshing with bevel gear 32 fast on the shaft C which passes through a side or frame of the mechanism. Fast on the end of the shaft C outside the 2,720,007 Patented Oct. 11, 19755 ICC frame is sprocket 20 around which passes chain 25 which also passes around sprocket 22 rotatably mounted on stub shaft E. Fast concentrically to the sprocket 22 is a smaller sprocket `21 around which passes a chain 26 which also passes around sprocket 1 mounted on stub shaft F. Adjustably mounted on the sprocket 1 by means of nuts and bolts in the slots 29 is sprocket 40. By loosening the nuts, the sprocket 40 may be adjusted to any degree of eccentricity in relation to the sprocket 1 as desired. Chain 28 passes around the sprocket 40, sprocket 41 and idler sprocket 30. The sprocket 41 is adjustably mounted on sprocket 39 `to give it the Meshing with gear 39 is gear 18 fast to gear 17 which rotates on stub shaft G and engages gear 10 fast on power shaft A which is run at a uniform rotation and drives the train of gears, sprockets and chains, heretofore described, which in turn drives the chain to drive the traveler.

By properly adjusting the location of the sprocket 41 or 40, one or the other being held concentric, and the arm 27, said train transforms the uniform rotation of the shaft A into an accelerating and decelerating rotation of the shaft C to cause the traveler to decelerate during its travel from the middle of the conveyor to its edges and to accelerate during its travel from the edges of the conveyor to its middle.

It has been found that the variation in speed imparted to the web laying traveler unit 9 by this combination of gears and chains corrects the fault heretofore existing and described herein and produces rovings which are substantially uniform in weight across the jack spools.

Only a preferred means to control the speed of the chain driving the traveler has been described herein in detail. It is realized that many modications such as changing the number of chains and gears and/or their relative locations can be made Without deviating from the invention as hereinafter claimed. Other means may also be employed to transfer a uniform rotation into one of acceleration and deceleration, such as a crank arm in combination with a rack and pinion wherein the crank arm is driven by a source of power and operates the rack in a reciprocating motion, the rack meshing with and motivating a pinion the shaft of which in turn is connected to and propels the traveler back and forth; or an elliptical gear mounted at the source of power and meshing with and motivating another elliptical gear the shaft of which is connected with the shaft of the gear propelling the traveler.

This application is a division of our prior application Serial No. 124,468, filed October 29, 1949.

We claim:

l. In carding apparatus the combination of a breaker card, a finisher card, a conveyor for continuously feeding the finisher card, means for driving said conveyor in a longitudinal direction, means for continuously feeding a roping of textile material from the breaker card at a constant rate of travel to a fixed point above the middle of the receiving end of said conveyor, a traveler for receiving the roping from said fixed point and for delivering the roping at a constant rate and mechanism for bodily moving said traveler back and forth across the Width of said conveyor including a driving shaft rotatable at a constant speed, a driven shaft for driving said traveler, and means for inter-connecting said shafts to rotate the driven shaft from the driving shaft at a continuously varying speed to decelerate the traveler throughout its travel away from the middle of the conveyor and to accelerate the traveler throughout its travel toward the middle of the conveyor.

2. In carding apparatus including a breaker card and a conveyor feeding a iinisher card, wherein a roping of textile material delivered by the breaker card is continuously fed at a constant rate of travel from a point above the middle vof the receiving end of said conveyor to a traveler which delivers the roping at a constant rate of travel and itself bodily travels back and forth across the width of said conveyor, the combination therewith of mechanism for reciprocating said traveler back and forth and means for varying the speed of said mechanism to cause the travelerto decelerate throughout its travel away from the middle of the conveyor and to accelerate throughout its travel toward the middle of the conveyor, said means comprising a drive shaft rotatable at a uniform speed and a rotary driving member mounted on said shaft eccentrically thereof.

3. In carding apparatus the combination of a breaker card, a iinisher card, a conveyor for continuously feeding the finisher card, means for driving said conveyor in a longitudinal direction, means for continuously feeding a roping of textile material from the breaker card at a constant rate of travel to a fixed point above the middle of the receiving end of the conveyor, a traveler for receiving the roping from said xed point and for delivering the roping at a constant rate and mechanism for bodily moving said traveler back and forth across the width of said conveyor including a driving shaft rotatable at a constant speed, a driven shaft for driving said traveler, and means for interconnecting said shafts to rotate the driven shaft from the driving shaft at a continuously varying speed to decelerate the traveler throughout its travel throughout its travel away from the middle of the conveyor and to accelerate the traveler throughout its travel toward the middle of the conveyor, said lastmentioned means comprising a sprocket driven by said driving shaft and mounted eccentrically of its axis of rotation, said sprocket being connected to drive said driven shaft.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,506,005 White May 2, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 764 Switzerland Apr. 20, 1889 

